Connect with your region in Orlando

Jennifer L. McCaul from Grand Valley State University, who serves as the Great Lakes Region V Chair, joins us this week. If you're unfamiliar with the NACADA regions or need to refresh, you may want to view the 10 Regions and their leaders. Thanks for highlighting regions for us Jennifer!

The Annual Conference is an opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the country and the world. However, I find that it's also the best time to connect with the folks that are in my own back yard. That's right! We get so wrapped up in our daily work that we don't often get outside of our bubble to talk to colleagues who work right down the road, or across the state, or across the region. There are so many wonderful things happening across the regions and we often have many shared experiences, cultural similarities, and challenges (economic and otherwise) that it's a good idea to see how our neighbors are handling these issues. It's also much easier to "sell" ideas to your own administration if you can find a similar institution doing something great in your own region because it proves it can work "here."

Take advantage of several opportunities to connect with your region in Orlando:

Welcome Reception: Sunday, October 3, 2010 8:30-10 p.m.

• Each region will have a sign displayed for you to gather with other members of your region and mingle. Use this opening event to find a "conference buddy" to share session notes and ideas with throughout the conference and then have someone to connect with after you get home.

Region Meetings: Monday, October 4, 2010 4:30-5:30 p.m.

• I know a lot of folks don't know what the region meetings are for and decide to check out the sights instead. I would encourage you to stick around and see what's happening in your region! Region leadership will share information about what is happening in the region - which often includes awards, scholarships, grants, conferences, and other events. The meetings then split into state and province meetings; this is an opportunity for you to learn how to get more involved in NACADA. Remember in these tough economic times, we're working to bring NACADA to where you are!

Best of Region Sessions

• The members in each of the 10 regions have selected these sessions as the best presentation from their respective NACADA region conference. Congratulations to the presenters who have been honored with this selection!

Don’t forgot to check out upcoming events in each region.

I can't wait to see all of my friends and colleagues again in Orlando. In fact, if I haven't met you - be sure to look me up! I'll be the one with the big grin on my face soaking up everything that NACADA has to offer... see you in 33 days!